Unknown Best Friend
by OrangeFanana
Summary: Impa didn't know who the boy was, or how he even got past the guards, but if he made Zelda happy, Impa was okay with him. Post OOT


**Soo here's a oneshot I wrote in about two sittings. Which is weird since I usually write a story over a week or something, which is why I never get shiz done, but this was only two. PLOTBUNNIESSSS**

**Also, I apologize for the title. I couldn't think of anything else**

_**This takes after OOT, though I'm going with only Zelda, Link, and Navi remembers what happened. **_

It was the child again. The same child that her Princess had waved to while they were out in Hyrule Field.

Impa watched curiously from the shadows, not quite sure understanding where her Princess had met such a boy. She hadn't even remembering meeting him, not even once. They seemed to be close friends, even on a first name basis and ignoring royal titles.

She'd first heard of the boy when she had heard their laughter in courtyard, where Impa was in the library, which overlooked the garden. When Impa had looked, she saw Princess Zelda giggling with a blonde, Kokiri boy. They were sitting in the grass, talking and laughing and looking like best friends. They had even looked cute together- matching eyes, ears, and even the same persistent smile.

Impa hadn't intervened, but she kept a close eye on the boy. He had a sword, albeit small, and even a wooden shield. They weren't facing her, but Impa could still sense her Zelda was relaxed and trusted the boy. So Impa trusted Zelda's judgment and let the boy stay. It would seem cruel as well, seeing as how he must've had to sneak past the guards to even get in. Impa made a mental note to talk those guards later.

Over the past months, Impa had seen him in more than a few occasions. She had caught a glimpse of him at Lon Lon Ranch, when she had gone to fetch some milk for Zelda's upset tummy. He was playing with the ranch owner's daughter, the red headed girl. They were sitting on the fence of the corral, him with a wooden ocarina in his hand. The girl was singing, and she had quite an impressive voice. Added with his skillful ocarina playing, the music they made was, simply put, beautiful.

Even the Talon, the owner, had laughed at her surprise look at the two children.

"Quite good, aren't they? Don't know where he learned to play like that, but man, can he play," he told her. Impa looked at him then, and asked for his name. Link, his name was Link, he had told her. Apparently the two had met at Castle Town, when he (he admitted this sheepishly) had fallen asleep while delivering milk. After Link woke Talon up and sent him to fetch his daughter, he had come back to visit and they kicked it off.

Impa stood there for a moment, and then smiled. "He seems like a nice boy."

And then later that week there was a thunderstorm. Quite a fierce one, with continuous lightning and constant rumbling, the one that made all the little ones run for the comfort of their parents. And of course Impa was late after the King had made her stay for a report on his daughter. For as much as the King cared for his daughter, no amount of pleading would allow him to postpone the meeting for tomorrow. He simply had to know how his Zelda was faring after he had just sentence a traitor to banishment after a day long trail.

Impa knew Zelda hated thunderstorms. Zelda's room was in a tower, not the highest one but definitely the farthest away from the main structure. Impa cursed the scholar who had told her lightning was the most powerfulness thing in nature ever, and it often struck tall buildings. Zelda was only seven at the time, which let the fear dig in.

Even her mother's funeral was held during a thunderstorm. Zelda was eight at the time, still deeply terrified of storms. They weren't in the castle, rather outside in a pavilion hearing an hour long speech. The rain spilled down around the wooden tent, almost acting like a wall. Zelda hadn't cried during the funeral, but afterwards huddled into a ball with her covers and cried herself to sleep with Impa rubbing her back as the storm raged on outside.

But that had been four years ago, and the Princess was twelve now, and still scared of lightning. Impa raced to climb the stairs to Zelda's bedroom door, expecting to hear small whimpers and calls of 'Impa'. Zelda knew Impa stayed outside the door incase Zelda needed anything, but after she had fallen asleep, Impa would sometimes fall asleep in the Princess's room, most likely in an armchair for a couple hours. Trained Sheikah didn't need much sleep.

But as she reached the door and ready to barge in, she heard hushed whispers and laughter that was quickly silenced. Impa paused, thoughts going at mile a second before she stopped them, and then quietly pushed open the door to peek in.

Impa wasn't all that surprised to see the boy, Link, in there. He was sitting on the windowsill, hair and clothes soaked. Zelda was standing by her bed, in her robe, staring uncertainly at the thunderstorm outside. Link smiled reassuringly, and patted next to him.

Impa watched in surprise as Zelda slowly shuffled closer to him, wincing as a loud thunderclap rocked the land. Zelda stood next to him, long blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders. Link patted the seat next to him, but Zelda shook her head. Link looked at her, puppy eyes watering. Impa felt satisfaction, seeing how Zelda was now at the end of the puppy-dog look. But still Zelda refused to sit down.

But then Link smirked, pushed open the window, and fell backwards.

Both Zelda and Impa gasped, and Zelda looked over the window, ignoring how the rain splattered against her head. Impa watched tensely, waiting for Zelda to starting crying and sobbing for him. But Zelda, oddly enough, laughed.

Even more to Impa's surprise, Zelda swung her legs over the windowsill and jumped out herself, leaving the room empty. Impa quickly raced over to the arched window, and squinted her eyes to see against the heavy rain. Much to her relief, Impa saw Zelda chasing Link, running around in the wet grass. Even from here Impa could hear their shrieks of laughter and footsteps.

Impa could forgive Zelda for the cold later, for it was worth it as Zelda wasn't afraid of thunderstorms anymore. She wasn't even going to question how Zelda could get back up without some sort of training.

In fact, Impa even let Zelda sleep in the next day, finding herself unable to disturb probably the most cutest scene she had ever seen. Zelda was curled up, as she usually slept, with blankets twisted around her body. She was facing Link, who seemingly fell asleep next to her, using his hat as a pillow and sleeping on his stomach. Their hands were close, the fingertips just brushing against each other.

Impa was still waiting for the day when the kid would get caught by the guards, or, even worse, the King. But that day never came. Impa would always find the boy at the courtyard, talking with Zelda or playing ocarinas together. Impa would see him in Castle Town, or in Hyrule Field, but never sneaking in or thrown in the dungeons. Impa still wondered how he did that.

But then, one day, the boy disappeared. He was gone for a full month. Zelda was solemner, quieter, and more reserved. Zelda seemed to have even stopped playing her beloved instrument. Impa would no longer hear hushed conversations from inside Zelda's room (Impa knew her Princess wasn't doing anything she wasn't ready for.). But, on the plus side, the tutors reported better work and progress. But to Impa, that wasn't worth Zelda's happiness.

Impa would catch Zelda staring of in the distance, out towards Hyrule Field. She knew Zelda was thinking of him, and didn't disturb her. But she did worry. Impa would look in Zelda's room, hoping to see the boy's silhouette blocking the moon, but it was always just Zelda's smooth frame in bed.

Impa missed Link too, even if Zelda didn't know it.

And then he came back. Late at night, full moon, with clouds pouring down with rain. Impa's sharp ears caught the small _tap tap's _on the windows. Her heart skipped a beat, and Impa quickly turned and edged open the door a bit, getting a view inside the room.

Zelda was almost leaping off the bed in excitement, even forgetting her robe and just going to the window in her white gown. She pulled open the windows, grinning ear to ear. But Link, crouched behind the glass, looked at her with tired eyes, grinned drowsily, and just about collapsed. Luckily for him, Zelda caught him, and pulled him inside. She set him on her bed and closed the windows, locking them.

Impa had to stop herself from jumping in when she saw the dark red staining Zelda's gown. The Princess had noticed it as well, gasping, and quickly running to her unconscious friend. Impa clenched the door, tense, as she watched Zelda look around Link for injuries. Impa narrowed her eyes when Zelda cried out softly, apparently finding the wound, and go off looking for bandages. Impa had to close the door when she came to close, but otherwise she watched Zelda as she just gave up and tore a piece off her sleeping gown.

The Princess stuck her tongue out as she cleaned the injury out with a glass of water from her bed stand and then wrap it tightly. From her angle, Impa assumed it was the arm that was bleeding, but she wasn't sure. After Zelda had finished patching up the injury, she had pushed Link farther onto her bed and sat next to him, watching him sleep.

After a while, Impa smiled to herself as she saw Zelda struggle to stay awake. Her eyes would flutter, her shoulders would sag, and then Zelda would realize what she was doing and shake herself awake again. This went on a couple of times before Zelda just wavered and fell forward, onto Link's stomach.

Impa waited ten minutes before she crept silently in the room. She closed the door behind her, and then waited again. After hearing only soft breathing, Impa stood up straight and walked around the bed to see the two children.

Zelda had indeed fallen asleep on Link's stomach. Her body in a ball while his was spread out with an arm wrapped in white was draped across his chest. Impa couldn't help but smile at the sight, before remembering what she had come in for. Gently, she picked up Link's arm and examined. Zelda had done an almost perfect job, but Impa had thought either Zelda had just panicked and wrapped too much or this boy was doing stuff too dangerous.

Curious, Impa unraveled the bandages at his wrist, though not all the way. However, her stomach clenched seeing the angry, deep cut, most likely running to his elbow. The only thing deep and sharp enough to do this was a sword, and Impa could not fathom who would want to hurt such a sweet kid.

"Who are you?"

Impa jumped and nearly pulled out her throwing needles at the voice. She looked up, and wished she hadn't. A bright, blue light hovered over Link, and Impa had to look away as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Once they were fine, Impa looked back at the glowing dot.

"Impa- bodyguard of the Princess… who are you?" Impa replied hesitantly, hand still holding the child's arm. Impa hadn't taken on a more direct, threatening voice either. _Perhaps it is because of how scared it sounds, _Impa thought. The light dimmed down, and Impa realized it was a small, blue fairy talking.

"Navi," she said simply. "What are you doing?" she asked Impa, hovering closer to her.

"Just checking…" Impa said, slowly rewrapping the bandage around the boy's arm once again. She set it down, where Link readjusted himself and fell into a deep sleep with a content sigh.

The two women stood (or in Navi's case, flew) still for a moment. And then a mutual understanding passed through both of them.

"You take good care of him. He's special."

"I know. But probably not as important as the Princess."

"We'll call it equal."

"Deal."

After that, the fairy floated down and slipped under Link's hat, snuggling in his hair. Impa walked back outside the door, and decided she wasn't tired anyway.

XXX

As days turned to weeks and weeks into months, the one thing constant was the friendship the two held. Impa always suspected it a bit more than that, but she never pushed it, knowing she wasn't supposed to know about it anyway.

There would be days when Zelda would just get sick and wouldn't see anyone the whole day, and then there would be times Impa found thrown out stripes of expensive cotton, stained red. Not with her blood, Impa knew.

It wasn't until four years later, when Zelda was sixteen, did Impa finally formally meet the boy. However, it wasn't her ideal meeting, to be honest.

There was a fire, most likely arson. Despite the stone walls and flooring, the castle had carpets, drapes, paintings, etc. which carried the flame quickly. The castle's design was turned against the staff and family, trapping the suffocating heat inside the castle and causing smoke to be _everywhere. _As Impa ran through the corridors, she heard coughing and wheezing within every room. She stopped to open hot doors or point out directions, but otherwise ran straight towards Zelda's room.

She wasted no time in kicking the door down, and it fell with a heavy 'thud'. Impa jumped on top of the door, scanning around the room for Zelda or -Goddesses forbid- a body. But all she met with was an open window with the drapes slightly moving by the wind. Impa leapt towards it, and looked down at the yard. Much to her relief, she saw a crowd of people: knights, cooks, servants, and even her Princess Zelda. But Impa couldn't see Link anywhere, and Zelda had a worried expression on her face.

Impa gasped as a crazed-looking man jumped out of one of the windows, grinning like crazy and carrying a lit torch. The knights immediately pulled out their swords, and advanced on the man. He laughed, and then _lit himself on fire. _

The people gasped and shrieked, and even the knights themselves seemed frozen. The man was screaming and laughing at the same time, probably insane. But before he died, he pulled back an arm and launched the torch, sending it tumbling in the air at the window Impa was looking out of. Caught off guard, Impa instinctively back flipped, landing in a crouch with an arm in the air for balance.

But the torch only landed on the feather bed. Impa's eyes widen and went to put it out, but the bed was already engulfed in the fire. Before long, the entire room had flames leaping around. Impa saw how quickly the fire jumped around and how it had a hint of purple in it. _Magic, _she thought, narrowing her eyes. But then the carpet caught on fire next, and Impa was forced to back up and look for a way out.

The window was out- the drapes were on fire, which then made the windowsill burn. Impa may be slightly more resistant to heat than Hylians, but she could still die by it. There weren't any vents in the room, nor secret passages (Impa noted to herself to request that). The only way out was the door behind her.

Impa twisted around and ran to the door, the heat already slowing her down. Right when she got there though, a wooden beam supporting the decorative roof fell, bringing the fire down with it. Impa shielded her face quickly and took a step back.

She was now trapped. The fire behind her was a wall of flames, while the path in front of her was a mass of burning wood. Impa paused, and then realized: She was going to die in here.

_ At least the Princess is safe, _Impa thought, sweat trickling down her forehead. As long as the Princess was safe, Impa could die in peace.

But at that moment Impa accepted her demise, the wood in front of her suddenly froze. Not as in stopped moving, but literally _froze. _The ice immediately distinguished the flames, although it was already melting. The wood inside was smoking within the cracks, which just caused more cracks. But the coolness that came with it was refreshing.

Impa didn't question what happened just yet and jumped over the ice block, and it felt like heaven as her hand pressed against the ice to boast herself forward. As she landed on the other side, there he was. Link.

He was standing with his legs spread out for balance, his chest heaving with each breath. His face shone with sweat, and his hair stuck to his forehead. In his hands was a bow, looking as if he had just fired. They looked at each other, and nodded. Soon they were both running to escape the burning castle.

They basically flew out of the door to the courtyard. The crowd gasped and shrieked again as the two collapsed in the grass for a minute, taking in the fresh air. Impa got up first, still panting. Link propped himself against a tree, running a hand through his sweaty bangs.

Zelda, obviously torn between the two, ran to Impa first. Impa accepted her hug with open arms, but then said to her, "Oh, go to him. I'm fine and I know you want to." Impa smirked at her face, and then winked at her. Zelda slowly smiled back at her and then went over to Link, who was checking to see if his boy was damaged.

Impa couldn't hide a smile as Zelda sat next to Link cross-legged, chatting. Before long, Zelda pulled Link up to his feet and dragged him over to Impa.

"So we finally meet, hm?" Impa asked, looking down at him.

"It's time you finally meet me," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her. "I've known you for a while."

Impa raised an eyebrow back at him for that, and Zelda hit him with her elbow. "What he means, is that I've told him all about you. Isn't that right, _Link?" _she said, glaring at the boy. Even if Zelda couldn't lie to save her life, she had a glare that could just about incinerate you.

Link nodded meekly, and Impa didn't question them any farther.

"Impa." She held out a hand.

"Link." He grasped the hand and shook it.

"Thanks for saving me back there," Impa said, smiling gently.

"Thanks for not kicking me out whenever I snuck in," he replied, laughing. Impa chuckled with him.

"I guess I have to thank you for not giving away my location then," Impa responded. This got Link laughing even more, and Zelda blushed. She scowled at Link, as in we-will-talk-about-this-later type of way.

But then Impa noticed something, or rather someone, was missing. "Where's that fairy of yours? What was her name? Nani?" Impa asked, thinking about her encounter with the blue fairy.

"Navi, her name was Navi," Link said, no longer laughing and quieter. Even Zelda's mad expression softened. "She's back in the forest, where she belongs," he said, not expanding any further. Impa nodded, understanding loss and not wanting to talk about it.

"Well, I think you should probably go help put the fire out," Impa told Link, watching as workers ran to and fro the castle with buckets, splashing with water. Someone even slipped and spilt the water all over him.

"Probably," Link said, and then turned around with his bow out and an arrow already in his fingers as he jogged to help. Impa and Zelda watched him, before Zelda turned to go talk to her father, who was yelling at the guards who didn't stop the arsonist in the first place, and how they were going to pay for the all furniture they had lost.

Impa still didn't understand how Zelda met him, or how he still got past the castle guards even today. But Impa didn't miss the look the two shared, and she figured she could protect the Royal Family for another generation.

**The ending is so-so. Basically I just want to finish this. **

**Sooo.. good? Bad? Tell me in the reviews!**

**Also I think my kittys sick. He's been sleeping all day yesterday, last night and today. :3**


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